Horst Hemmerle

Pharmacodynamic profile of a novel inhibitor of the hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase system

The glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) system catalyzes the terminal enzymatic step of gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. Inhibition of the G-6-Pase system in the liver is expected to result in a reduction of hepatic glucose production irrespective of the relative contribution of gluconeogenesis or glycogenolysis to hepatic glucose output. In isolated perfused rat liver, S-3483, a derivative of chlorogenic acid, produced concentration-dependent inhibition of gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis in a similar concentration range. In fed rats, glucagon-induced glycogenolysis resulted in hyperglycemia for nearly 2 h. Intravenous infusion of 50 mg . kg-1. h-1 S-3483 prevented the hyperglycemic peak and subsequently caused a further lowering of blood glucose. In 24-h starved rats, in which normoglycemia is maintained predominantly by gluconeogenesis, intravenous infusion of S-3483 resulted in a constant reduction of blood glucose levels. Intrahepatic concentrations of glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) and glycogen were significantly increased at the end of both in vivo studies. In contrast, lowering of blood glucose in starved rats by 3-mercaptopicolinic acid was accompanied by a reduction of G-6-P and glycogen. Our results demonstrate for the first time in vivo a pharmacologically induced suppression of hepatic G-6-P activity with subsequent changes in blood glucose levels.

Alterations of carbohydrate and lipid intermediary metabolism during inhibition of glucose-6-phosphatase in rats

S 4048 (1-[2-(4-Chloro-phenyl)-cyclopropylmethoxy]-3, 4-dihydroxy-5-(3-imidazo[4, 5-b]pyridin-1-yl-3-phenyl-acryloyloxy)-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid), a derivative of chlorogenic acid, specifically inhibits the glucose-6-phosphate translocating component T1 of the glucose-6-phosphatase system. Its pharmacological effect was studied on carbohydrate and lipid parameters in rats. In starved and fed rats, S 4048 caused a dose-dependent reduction of blood glucose levels with a corresponding increase in hepatic and renal glycogen and glucose-6-phosphate. The major quantitative route of carbon flux in the liver during S 4048-induced inhibition of the glucose-6-phosphatase activity seemed to be glycogenesis. Plasma free fatty acids were increased secondarily due to the S 4048-induced hypoglycemia. Hepatic triglycerides were increased possibly due to increased re-esterification of the readily available free fatty acids. Glucose-6-phosphate translocase inhibitors may be useful for experimentally studying aspects of type 1 glycogen storage disease in laboratory animals as well as for the therapeutic modulation of inappropriately high rates of hepatic glucose production in type 2 diabetes.

Direct Evidence for the Involvement of Two Glucose 6-Phosphate-binding Sites in the Glucose-6-phosphatase Activity of Intact Liver Microsomes CHARACTERIZATION OF T1, THE MICROSOMAL GLUCOSE 6-PHOSPHATE TRANSPORT PROTEIN BY A DIRECT BINDING ASSAY

S 5627 is a synthetic analogue of chlorogenic acid. S 5627 is a potent linear competitive inhibitor of glucose 6-phosphate (Glc-6-P) hydrolysis by intact microsomes (K i = 41 nm) but is without effect on the enzyme in detergent- or NH4OH-disrupted microsomes.3H-S 5627 was synthesized and used as a ligand in binding studies directed at characterizing T1, the Glc-6-P transporter. Binding was evaluated using Ca2+-aggregated microsomes, which can be sedimented at low g forces. Aside from a modest reduction in K values for both substrate and S 5627, Ca2+ aggregation had no effect on glucose-6-phosphatase (Glc-6-Pase). Scatchard plots of binding data are readily fit to a simple “two-site” model, with K d = 21 nm for the high affinity site and K d = 2 μm for the low affinity site. Binding to the high affinity site was competitively blocked by Glc-6-P (K i = 9 mm), whereas binding was unaffected by mannose-6-phosphate, Pi, and PPiand only modestly depressed by 2-deoxy-d-glucose 6-phosphate, a poor substrate for Glc-6-Pase in intact microsomes. Thus the high affinity 3H-S 5627 binding site fits the criteria for T1. Permeabilization of the membrane with 0.3% (3-[(chloramidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate) activated Glc-6-Pase and broadened its substrate specificity, but it did not significantly alter the binding of 3H-S 5627 to the high affinity sites or the ability of Glc-6-P to block binding. These data demonstrate unequivocally that two independent Glc-6-P binding sites are involved in the hydrolysis of Glc-6-P by intact microsomes. The present findings are the strongest and most direct evidence to date against the notion that the substrate specificity and the intrinsic activity of Glc-6-Pase in native membranes are determined by specific conformational constraints imposed on the enzyme protein. These data constitute compelling evidence for the role of T1 in Glc-6-Pase activity.

Identification of two new inhibitors of the hepatic glucose-6-phosphatase system

A high‐throughput screening assay aimed at the detection of inhibitors of the translocase components of the hepatic glucose‐6‐phosphatase (G6Pase) system was set up in a microplate format using untreated and Triton X‐100™‐disrupted rat liver microsomes. The assay measured the phosphate released from glucose‐6‐phosphate (G6P) using a standard calorimetric method. We identified two structurally unrelated compounds, 2‐hydroxy‐5‐nitrobenzaldehyde and chlorogenic acid, which inhibited the hydrolysis of G6P in untreated microsomes, each with IC50 values of 338 μM and 226 μM, respectively, but were devoid of activity in disrupted microsomes. Thus, the two compounds exhibited a high degree of specificity for translocase components. The effects of 2‐hydroxy‐5‐nitrobenzaldehyde bear a resemblance to the effects of pyridoxal phosphate. Studies with compounds structurally related to 2‐hydroxy‐5‐nitrobenzaldehyde suggest that both a phenolic OH‐group in ortho position to the aldehyde group and a suitable electron‐withdrawing group in position 3 or 5 of the aromatic ring are indispensable for the activity of this class of inhibitors. The inhibition pattern of chlorogenic acid is distinct from that of phloretin and is dependent on a free carboxyl group. The products of chlorogenic acid hydrolysis, quinic acid and caffeic acid, are inactive. 2‐Hydroxy‐5‐nitrobenzaldehyde type inhibitors and chlorogenic acid are potent new inhibitors for investigating the structure and function of the translocase components of the G6Pase system. Drug Dev. Res. 44:34–40, 1998.

Identification of protein components of the microsomal glucose 6-phosphate transporter by photoaffinity labelling.

The glucose-6-phosphatase system catalyses the terminal step of hepatic glucose production from both gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis and is thus a key regulatory factor of blood glucose homoeostasis. To identify the glucose 6-phosphate transporter T1, we have performed photoaffinity labelling of human and rat liver microsomes by using the specific photoreactive glucose-6-phosphate translocase inhibitors S 0957 and S 1743. Membrane proteins of molecular mass 70, 55, 33 and 31 kDa were labelled in human microsomes by [3H]S 0957, whereas in rat liver microsomes bands at 95, 70, 57, 54, 50, 41, 33 and 31 kDa were detectable. The photoprobe [3H]S 1743 led to the predominant labelling of a 57 kDa and a 50 kDa protein in the rat. Stripping of microsomes with 0.3% CHAPS retains the specific binding of T1 inhibitors; photoaffinity labelling of such CHAPS-treated microsomes resulted in the labelling of membrane proteins of molecular mass 55, 33 and 31 kDa in human liver and 50, 33 and 31 kDa in rat liver. Photoaffinity labelling of human liver tissue samples from a healthy individual and from liver samples of patients with a diagnosed glycogen-storage disease type 1b (GSD type 1b; von Gierkes disease) revealed the absence of the 55 kDa protein from one of the patients with GSD type 1. These findings support the identity of the glucose 6-phosphate transporter T1, with endoplasmic reticulum protein of molecular mass 50 kDa in rat liver and 55 kDa in human liver.